This is eventually going to be a Remus/OC story, but it's going to have Sirius/OC in the beginning to get the ball rolling. Remus is stubborn and too self-depricative to allow himself to be in a relationship and Sirius knows just how to make him jealous enough to make a move.

Stage two was completely up to Sirius. I'd flirted with Sirius while I talked to his friends, trying to play it cool. I wanted Sirius to be sure I was interested in him with no question, but I also didn't want to come off as desperate.

Lacey and I were in the corner we claimed as our own in the library. I was working on my DADA homework while she did her star chart for astronomy. I was writing about the new werewolf restriction laws the Ministry was supposed to be voting on in incoming weeks. They were incredibly unjust and prejudice, as if the human side of the werewolf were responsible for its actions. They were two completely different entities entirely, but the stuffy old farts at the Ministry didn't seem to care about that.

"You're glaring at your parchment again, Vix," Lacey observed from across the table from me where she was sucking on a sugar quill instead of working.

"Listen to this rubbish, 'As they are inferior to wizards and a threat to magical kind, the monstrosities should be slaughtered. They have slaughtered us for years, never mind that they're only beasts one time a month. A beast is always a beast, just a good liar.' Who's that twisted?" I asked, anger bubbling in my stomach as I continued to read the propaganda used to support the new laws. "It's like they've never read a book about real werewolves, only seen the shit muggle movies. They're not in their heads when they're turned, it's all animal instinct. When they're human, they're wracked with guilt no one can understand. Yet they're being punished even more for just existing. It's almost like the problems with blood status. They're two alike spades if I've ever see one."

"I hardly think the two things compare, Thea," Lacey sighed, looking at me fully instead of her blank chart. "It's not like we can help who are parents are. We don't get to choose if we're magical or not like you got to choose if you… you know."

I looked at her in disbelief. Never in my life had I felt so disconnected with Lacey Chapman, we'd been best friends since the first day on the train when she got on with blue and pink bubblegum hair. I'd showed her that I could make my hair do the same thing and we'd never spent a second apart since, we even spent our summers together. Yet, in this moment, I felt miles and miles away from her.

"Being a metamorphmagus is not the same thing as being a werewolf," I replied, gathering my things slowly. "I also missed the part where I chose to be what I am or werewolves chose to be bitten."

"T, don't be like that," she huffed, trying to stop me from leaving. "Dorothea, I'm sorry. Please don't go, I didn't think before I spoke."

I stopped moving and tried to calm myself down. She didn't understand what was bothering me and I really didn't want to explain it. I felt guilty that my abnormality wasn't punishable by torture or being ostracized by society. Mine was a cute little party trick, making my nose into a duck bill or into a pig snout was funny and entertaining. Being an Animagus was a choice people made, they got to choose to become an animal and it was fine. I understood there was a difference, Animagi kept their human minds when they changed but still. That was privilege if I've ever seen it.

"Thank you," she sighed when I sat back down. "You're always so over dramatic."

I loved her like a sister, but sometimes I needed space. This was one of those times. I finished packing my things and left her alone, whining, in the corner. I needed to finish this essay and knew I couldn't do it with her. I was pissed and being in her presence would only make it worse. Unfortunately, most of the seats had been taken by first years that were experiencing their first exams and freaking out over the amount of things they thought they needed to know.

I was about to give up and head back to the Common Room when I saw Remus Lupin stashed away from everyone at a table by himself. With my bag hitched up on my shoulder, I made my way over to him and knocked on the tabletop to get his attention. I must've startled him because he jumped and his quill left a big ink smudge across his parchment.

"Godric, I'm sorry!" I said quickly, pulling out my wand and saying, "Scourgify!"

The ink, thankfully, siphoned off the paper and left his notes clean as before. "You're pretty good with that spell. Well, that or I'm particularly clumsy."

"I tend to have that effect on men," I teased, making his cheeks flush and him look away from me. "Do you mind if I sit with you?"

"Of course," he replied, moving things so I could sit in the seat across from him. "Didn't I see you studying with Lacey already? Not that I watch you or anything that would be weird. I just passed by and happened to see the two of you sitting together… in the corner… where there is no entrance for me to have come in through."

I'd never seen him flustered before, he was always a bit quiet compared to his mates, but never this nervous. Without thinking, I reached forward and placed my hand over his to stop his nervous picking. There were already enough scars on his hands; he didn't need to add anymore.

"It's fine," I promised. "Don't worry about being weird; we're all a little weird. We are at a school for witches and wizards, after all. I don't think we're supposed to be normal, I don't even think 'normal' is a real word anyway."

My words seemed to comfort him as I watched his shoulders slowly lose their tension. Once I was sure he wasn't going to maim himself, I moved my hand and started unpacking my things. After I had everything set up, I went back to finding information in the text for my essay.

The two of us worked in a comfortable silence, the scratch of quills soothing. Doing homework was a lot easier with him than with Lacey. I wasn't distracted by gossiping and talking about what to wear to upcoming Hogsmeade trips. The two of us would make up by the end of the day, but I seriously considered doing homework with Remus more often.

"Do you prefer to do homework alone?" I asked.

"It doesn't really matter, I just prefer quiet sometimes. It's hard to come by with the guys," he answered, looking at me instead of his parchment. "James and Sirius are at Quidditch practice and Peter isn't going anywhere near the library after he got locked in here a couple nights ago by himself."

I snickered, imagining the twitchy boy by himself in the dark library. "How did that happen? Don't professors and prefects patrol inside the library?"

Lacey and I sometimes adventured here when we were exploring at night. We knew first hand that patrols happened because we'd almost been caught loads of times. Yet again, I'm very thankful for dad's 'carelessly misplaced' disillusionment charm instructions.

He fixed me with a knowing look, his eyes sparkling with mischief that surprised me. "You would know, wouldn't you -foxing around in the dark with your friends after curfew and everything?"

I felt myself pale, knowing I'd been caught. Remus was a prefect, he could tell Professor Dumbledore and I could be in serious trouble. Dad could be stripped of his position at the Ministry because they weren't going to try and understand how I work. They would fire spells and ask questions later.

"Bloody hell, that's brilliant," he breathed, looking at me with wonder-filled eyes.

I touched my face, but none of my features were animated. In my haste to check my face, I ruffled my hair and saw that it was pale white. When the color drained from my face, it must've also drained from my hair. That was a first in a long time, I'd gotten pretty good control over my hair flaring different colors. It was pretty bad when I was little, but it hadn't happened in at least three years.

"You're a metamorphmagus?" he asked in a hushed whisper as I focused on making my hair strawberry blonde again. "I thought you were an Animagus."

Once my hair was normal again, I pitched my voice low. "No, my father is and my mum is a metamorphmagus like me. I wanted to be like him and we figured out how to manipulate my body in just the right way for me to turn into a fox, but please don't say anything. My dad could get fired and put in Azkaban, the Ministry doesn't understand people who are different nor do they want to."

He quickly sobered and nodded, leaning back from me. I hadn't realized the two of us were leaning into each other until I was suddenly cold without him near. I was going to ask what happened when two bodies slammed into the chairs between us.

"Hathaway, are you following me?" Sirius asked, eyeing James across from him.

I arched my eyebrow and looked at him. "No… I was here first. It's a good thing you're good-looking, not much going on up here."

I tapped his temple before getting my things and standing up. He was unhampered and grabbed my hand, making me quake inside because it was so rough and big. God, he was so fit. Jesus, I wanted him to fuck me into the next millennia.

"So, you think I'm good-looking, then?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows at me teasingly.

I rolled my eyes playfully and shrugged my shoulders. Then I turned to look at Remus, I saw him frowning and felt a matching one slide into place on my face. What happened? I thought we were becoming friends or at least acquaintances earlier, but he was so distant now.

"Thanks for letting me sit with you, Remus," I said, making him look up at me. "And for being such a good listener, I'd love to do homework with you again."

His frown turned into a smile again and the tightness in my chest lessened. I dropped Sirius' hand and left the library, feeling curiously light on my feet. It was a good feeling to know people understood you when you were different, it didn't happen often.

Thaaaaaaaanks for reading!